ARTICLES ABOUT BABY BLUES BY DATE - PAGE 2

Nothing hits the spot like a smoky beef brisket, slow-cooked over wood, then served on a fresh bun. Dress it up with regular, spicy or Carolina barbecue sauce, and you've got a mouthful of heaven ($6.26 for the sandwich, $9.74 for a meal with two sides and a drink). Baby Back Blues, 16200 S. Lincoln Highway/Illinois Highway 30, Plainfield; 815-254-6939.

DEEP BLUE If you're ready to take the plunge, Martha Stewart's Valspar paints line offers cool blue loveliness for your walls in a color called Blue Velvet. In a small room, it would be bold but enveloping, like swimming in a twilight pool. Why not try it in your powder room? Or as a glossy surprise inside your hall closet? Cost: $26.98 per gallon Lowe's, 800-445-6937; or lowes.com for stores EMBRACEABLE BLUE Room & Board's Quinn chair is like a shift dress: modern, simple, alluring.

Postpartum depression has gotten a softer face in recent years as celebrity mothers such as Brooke Shields, who've experienced its devastating symptoms, have begun to share their personal stories. Still hidden, though, are the identities of new fathers who have suffered in silence. Almost as many men as women suffer from this type of depression, according to researchers who examined data from more than 5,000 two-parent families. In all, about 14 percent of mothers and 10 percent of fathers showed signs of moderate or severe postpartum depression, according to the study, first reported in the August 2006 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

First impressions: You get an idea of what's to come even before entering Baby Back Blues BBQ. Pull into the parking lot of the strip mall that it's tucked into, and you'll catch a whiff of hickory smoke. You get another hint of what's to come when you walk in and see a roll of paper towels standing on a dowel at each table. Baby Back Blues has a definite fast-food-joint look to it--a walk-up counter where you order, 10 tables, condiment bars. The walls are covered with photos of musicians and newspaper reviews of the restaurant, which has been making fingers sticky since 1998.

A fistfight nearly broke out at the hospital. An on-set argument about shooting issues between "Grey's Anatomy" co-stars Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington almost resulted in blows Monday. At issue, Washington tells People magazine, was "time and [keeping] the production going. The communication was lost in translation." Hmm, was one speaking a foreign language? Fortunately for viewers, no punches were thrown. "Our faces are too beautiful for that!" Washington says.

Call yourself a NASCAR fan? How would you like to have a race named after you just by writing about a favorite Crown Royal moment? Yes, the alcohol. Other prizes include VIP treatment at the 2007 Daytona 500. Click on "Your Name Here" 400 contest at crownroyal.com. Deadline Nov. 23. To nominate Know a funky, hip mom who's got serious skills? Tell the folks at familyfun.com/momscontest about her talents in one of four categories: recipes, travel, crafts or parties, and you both could score some freebies like a new HP Photosmart printer.

Despite what she describes as a delayed case of postpartum depression after the June 13, 2004, birth of her daughter, Coco, Courteney Cox Arquette says she would like another child. "I went through a really hard time--not right after the baby, but when [Coco] turned 6 months," Cox Arquette, 41, tells USA Today. "I couldn't sleep. My heart was racing. And I got really depressed. I went to the doctor and found out my hormones had been pummeled." Taking the steroid hormone progesterone helped Cox Arquette get through her difficulties, as did support from such close friends as Jennifer Aniston, who lives nearby, and Brooke Shields, who famously suffered from and conquered her own bouts with postpartum depression.

On the Richter scale of fashion urgency, prom falls somewhere between "your wedding day" and "dinner with the queen of England." Your fellow classmates critique you with candor that would make Joan Rivers blush. Your date is expected to swoon at the very sight of you. And your parents display the photos of you for, like, ever. It's darn important. That's why this year's choices are such good news. Dresses haven't been this bright, fun and diverse in years. It's almost enough to make a gal long for high school.

1. Oh, the irony Paris Hilton is in "House of Wax," which also happens to be the phrase most people use to describe her head. 2. The old brawl game Don't miss WrestleMania this Sunday. It's like "The Real World" with less clothing. 3. Baby blues Rumor has it Gwyneth Paltrow is expecting a boy because a spy spotted a cake with blue icing at her baby shower, but sources caution that she could just as easily be expecting a Smurf. 4. That's her thing I'll admit I might go watch "Jersey Girl," but don't try and tell me that J.Lo disappearing from the movie after 15 minutes is anything new. 5. Define 'indecent' The House wants to raise the fine on TV indecency to $500,000.

By Bob Levey, The Washington Post. Bob Levey is a columnist at The Washington Post | January 29, 2003

Never again will I complain about restricted building heights along Pennsylvania Avenue, drabness on K Street or ticky-tackiness in our subdivisions. I have just seen the most horrible piece of architecture in all the land. Be grateful that it's 612 miles away. Once upon a time, Soldier Field in Chicago was a graceful evocation of the early 20th Century. Yes, the grand old arena houses football games, which aren't noted for grace (at least not lately, since the Bears of the National Football League have been stinking up the joint)